Magnolia acquires Malick’s ‘Wonder’

Venice film planned for release next year

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Terrence Malick’s “To the Wonder,” which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month.

Magnolia plans to release “To the Wonder” next year.

Pic also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem. Producers are Sarah Green and Nicolas Gonda; exec producers are Glen Basner of FilmNation along with Jason Krigsfeld and Joseph Krigsfeld of Brothers K Prods.

Variety’s Justin Chang gave the film a positive notice at Venice.

“Staying in the semi-autobiographical vein of ‘The Tree of Life,’ the suddenly industrious writer-director finds tenderness and beauty in a whisper-thin story of passion, marriage and betrayal that all but erases the line between the secular and the sacred,” Chang wrote. “Those who can’t abide Malick’s spiritual reveries will steer clear, but flaws and all, this is ravishing, distrib-worthy work from a filmmaker who hasn’t lost his capacity to move and surprise.”

“Wonder” centers on Kurylenko and Affleck’s characters meeting in France and moving to Oklahoma to start a life together, where problems soon arise.

Malick’s “Tree of Life” was released by Fox Searchlight domestically and grossed $13 million. It took in another $40 million overseas.

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia’s Dori Begley, with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.